Friday Apple Rumors: iPhone Mini to Launch in 2014

by Christopher Freeburn | January 4, 2013 2:03 pm

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Downsizing: While Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) increased the size of the iPhone 5’s screen to 4-inches, yet another analyst says it will head in the opposite direction to take on Samsung in overseas markets[4], CNET notes. Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston has joined a number of other analysts arguing that Apple will look to compete with Samsung in emerging markets by releasing a cheaper iPhone. In order to reduce the new phone’s cost, Apple will reduce the size of its touchscreen. While other analysts have suggested that an iPhone Mini could debut as soon as this year, Mawson considers that unlikely. He anticipates that the smaller phone will be unveiled within the next three years, most likely in 2014.

Alternate Choice: Despite a growing chorus of reports that Apple will partner with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM[5]) to produce chips for its mobile devices, Forbes notes that many Silicon Valley experts increasingly expect[6] it to tap Intel (NASDAQ:INTC[7]) instead. Apple has been reportedly moving to reduce its dependence on Samsung as a manufacturing partner as the two companies have become global competitors in the mobile device market. Previous rumors have suggested the TSMC has begun preparing test runs to make Apple’s A6X mobile processors. However, MKM Partners analyst Daniel Berenbaum suggest that Intel is a more logical choice for the role since it’s greater chip-making capacity could allow it to act as an Apple chip foundry without the need for new capital investment. Rumors suggest that TSMC has been investing heavily to accommodate Apple’s anticipated orders. But Berenbaum says that TSMC’s chip-making capacity remains too restricted to meet Apple’s heavy demand.

Knockoffs: U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have seized more than $635,000 worth of counterfeit Apple products[8], 9to5Mac notes. Agents seized fake Lightning connector cables and adapters from a Chinese airplane that stopped in Anchorage, Alaska, on its way to the continental U.S. The agency did not reveal the name of the Chinese manufacturer who produced the fake Lightning connectors, but indicated that while they looked like Apple products, their manufacture and packaging was below Apple’s standards. Customs agents have seized millions of dollars worth of fake Apple products made by Chinese manufacturers over the past several years.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[9] stories.